Activation
by TheDreamyOne
Summary: Epilogue Uploaded Coauthored by Gypsy. Donovan is the apparent target of a contracted assassination. Can the team find the hitter before Donovan's time runs out?
1. The Activation

Title:                Activation

Author:            TheDreamyOne & Gypsy

Email:             sdjolly@bellsouth.net

Feedback:            All opinions welcome!

Rating:            PG-13

Type:               Intrigue, Action/Adventure

Summary:            Donovan is the apparent target of a contracted assassination.  Can the team find the hitter before Donovan's time runs out?

Disclaimer:            UC:Undercover and its characters belong to NBC, Shane Salerno, etc.    All original characters belong to us. No infringements intended. 

***

"He's become too much of a liability."

Derek looked up from the file he was studying and found his superior standing in the doorway of his small office.  "He hasn't made a move we didn't know about.  There's no indication he's become a liability."

"The Powers-that-be sees things differently.  He's refused to provide assistance when asked.  He's become insubordinate and disloyal.  It's time to activate our contingent plan."

Derek blinked several times at the retreating back of his boss.  He disagreed, but had no choice but to make the call to activate the agent.

He punched up the target's file on his laptop and requested the contact code from the contents.  He stared in disbelief when the name of the contact popped up.  He shook his head and dialed the number.   The phone rang several times before it was answered.  He engaged the person in a friendly greeting to give the voice print analyzer time to verify the agent's identity.  Positive.

Derek's hand shook as he spoke the words to activate the mission.  "Dove turned destroyer."  He waited a moment for the prearranged reply.  When no answer came, "Repeat.  Dove turned destroyer."

He heard the intake of breath and finally the repeat of the preordained acknowledgement, "She cut you up; she's a slave of love."

"Affirmative, Dennison.  You know what you must do."  The hit was in place.  There was no stopping it now.  Derek felt like a traitor.  The intended target did not deserve it.  He was a good, decent man.  Such a shame.

"Consider it done."  

Derek felt sick as he heard the click on the end of the line and the eerie tone of the dead line.  A forewarning of things to come.  

************

Laughing at Frank's attempt to persuade eighteen-month-old Ariel that scrambled eggs were a _good_ thing, Shay began to clear the breakfast table.  

"Leave it, Ash.  I'll take care of it while you get the kids ready to take to Dad's," Frank insisted.  He glanced around the table.  Little Jake sat quietly eating his Cheerios.  Fifteen months older than his sister, he took being the big brother very seriously.  When Zachary Trevor Donovan came along four months ago, he became quite the intense two and a half year old.  

"Dun wan' 'em," Ariel insisted, turning her face away from the fork full of eggs.  Her long black curls danced around her pixie face and her dark chocolate eyes were insistent that she would not be persuaded.  

Shay laughed.  "Don't force her, babe.  Dad will give her a snack if she gets hungry later."  Unhooking the tray from the highchair, she lifted Ariel from the seat and lowered her to the floor.  "Run upstairs rascal, and we'll get dressed for Grampa's."

" 'Kay, Mama," Ariel sang as she toddled from the room with Shay following closely behind her.  

"What about you, Little Man?" Frank asked as he cleared the table.  

"What, Daddy?" LJ asked wide-eyed.  

"You need help getting dressed for Grampa's?" 

"Nooooo," LJ insisted.  After all, he was a big boy now.  He was nearly three-years-old.  

Frank arched a brow at his oldest and nearly chuckled.  He was determined to do everything himself and had become very self-sufficient for a child his age.  He became more handsome by the day and had many of his mother's facial features, including her beautiful sky-blue eyes.  LJ's Hispanic parentage from his birthfather was very evident; otherwise people would assume he was Frank's natural born son.  It had never mattered to Frank; LJ was his own as far as he was concerned.

"Sure you don't need help?" he asked the youngster again.

LJ slid from his booster chair to the floor.  "Weeellll...maybe you could help me tie my shoelaces?" 

Frank smiled and ruffled the boy's hair.  "Go on, I'll be up in a minute."  

He loaded the dishwasher quickly and followed his family upstairs.  He could hear Ariel in LJ's room babbling about her baby doll.  As he passed the room he took note of LJ's frustration while he diligently tried to tie his shoelaces.  He headed for the master bedroom, but stopped in the doorway to the nursery when he found Shay standing at the crib watching their infant son.  

Approaching her quietly, he stood behind her and grasped her gently at the hips.  "You okay, Ash?"

"Mmmm...never better.  Isn't he beautiful?"  She sighed contentedly and leaned back against Frank's chest. 

"As beautiful as his mother," Frank agreed and kissed her cheek.  

"I still wish you would have let me name him after you," she commented.

"Not fair," he murmured against her throat.  It never failed to amaze him how he needed to touch or kiss her.  Needed it like the air he breathed.  

"Maybe, maybe not.  But you're right, I guess.  It will be hard enough for Little Jake knowing he's not your son by blood."  She turned to face him and kissed him softly.  "To give up naming your son after yourself...I never would have asked you for such a sacrifice."

"LJ's as much my son as Zack is, my love.  He'll never doubt that as long as I live."  Hugging her fiercely he whispered, "Ready for another one?"

"Oh, good God, you have _got_ to be kidding!" Shay laughed as she pushed him away to gather the baby's things for his day at Grampa's.  "I'm thinking more along the lines of having you neutered, buddy.  I was on the pill and still we managed to create Zack."  

Frank laughed and helped her pack Zack's things.  "Think again, Donovan.  I wouldn't mind having a few more of these little miracles running around the house."

Shay rolled her eyes and threw the pacifier she'd been holding at his head and laughed when he caught it and shoved it into the diaper bag.  "Then you carry and give birth to the next three."

Frank playfully pooched his stomach out and looked in the mirror.  "Nah...what would all the guys say down at the bar?"

She could not stop the peal of laughter and fell into Frank's arms.  "Oh, if only the gang could see you now."

He laughed softly.  "I don't think that's a good idea, dear heart.  This Frank...the playful, goofy Frank...he's only for you." 

Shay sobered and looked into his eyes intently.  "My God...how I love you."  

"Damn good thing you do, too," he whispered against her ear.  

Shay moaned throatily as his lips covered hers.  She cupped the back of his neck with one hand to pull him closer while her other hand joined his and their fingers entwined.  The moment was interrupted by the ear-shattering wail of their infant son who chose just that moment to wake up.

They parted, each chuckling as they went their separate ways.  Frank went to finish dressing Little Jake and check on Ariel.  Shay went back to Zack to change his diaper and get him dressed for the short trek to Grampa's.  

When all the children were ready to leave, Frank helped Shay load the kids in his Blazer.  He had a meeting across town and they were taking separate cars that morning.  Shay tossed him the keys to her Celica.  "See you later at work, baby," she called as she climbed behind the wheel.  

He watched until they turned onto the street before heading back to the house.  He had a meeting with their lawyer to make sure that all the paperwork had gone through annulling his 'marriage' to Daphne Charles.**

**See "Bed of Lies" UC Fanfic by Dreamy & Gypsy.  

************

To be continued...


	2. Attempt One

Shay neared the driveway of her father's home in time to see a vehicle she did not recognize pull away.  He had begun dating his next-door neighbor a few months prior, a charming widowed woman with a loving disposition.  However, the vehicle did not belong to her.  The occupant of the vehicle was a woman, or a man with long blonde hair.  She was too far away and at such an angle that Shay could not get a clear look at her.

Shay pulled up to the house and was immediately met by Thomas Renquist opening her car door.  "Hey Dad," she greeted.  "Wanna help me un-strap the munchkins and get them inside?  I'm running late."

Thomas laughed and opened the back door and helped LJ out of his car seat.  After LJ was safely out of the Blazer he removed Ariel from hers and held her in his arms.  Shay cradled Zack tenderly and flung his diaper bag over her shoulder.  "Dad...who was that I saw leaving a few minutes ago?" she asked as they walked toward the house.

"No one important, kiddo.  Just an old friend," he replied elusively.  

Shay frowned, but did not press.  As the former Director of the CIA, her father had more secrets than she cared to count.  She was positive she did not want to know them, either.  She felt much the same with her husband's past.  If he chose to share it with her, so be it, but she never pried.  

--

Two hours of waiting in traffic or waiting at the lawyer's had Donovan's mood foul.  The only good thing that happened was the lawyer giving him the papers acknowledging that the annulment had gone through and his marriage to Shay was legal.  That would be a load off both of them.  It had been a constant strain from the moment Daphne had strode into the nest. 

He was still about twenty minutes away from the nest.  Deciding to check in, he flipped open his cell phone and speed dialed the office.

"Yo!"

"Yo?  What the hell kind of way is that to answer the phone?"

"Hey Boss.  You're the one who told me no more quips when answering the phone."

Donovan groaned audibly.  Cody would never grow up.  "Got held up in traffic.  I should be there in about twenty."

"That's cool.  Jake and Alex are shootin' hoops waiting on you."

"Is Shay nearby?"

"Ummm...she's not with you?" Cody asked worriedly.

Frank's brow rose in surprise.  "No, we took separate cars.  She took the kids to her dad's and then was coming in to work."

"Maybe she had a doctor's appointment or something."

"No. No...I'll call Thomas to make sure she dropped the kids off.  Call her cell, find out where she is."

"I'm on it."

Frank speed dialed his father-in-law and received the answering machine.  He left a message for Thomas to call him.  He snapped the phone shut and took the next turn and slammed the brakes on just before hitting the barricade that lined the street.  

"What the..."  There was no indication of work being done on the streets or sewers.  Cars lined either side of the street, the drivers honking their horns and cussing at the nonexistent hold up of their busy day. 

His worry for his missing wife spurred his impatience.  He unfastened his seatbelt, pushed the door open and slid out of the car.  Just as he exited, he heard the windshield crack and something thud into the headrest of the driver's seat.  Without hesitation he dropped to the ground and drew both guns from his shoulder holster.   Closing the car door, he inched forward far enough to peer over the hood and with his eyes, he followed the path the bullet would have taken and inspected the rooftops intently.  Nothing.

He heard sirens closing in and knew the police were on their way.  Donovan waited, deciding it would be smarter to play it safe rather than go searching for the shooter without backup.   

--

"Thought you said twenty minutes?" Cody quipped when Donovan finally arrived at the nest.

Donovan sat down heavily in the chair at the briefing table.  "Well, sorry.  I hadn't planned on being shot at."

"WHAT!?"  Cody, Alex and Jake all exclaimed in unison.

He ignored their outcry.  "Cody...where's Shay?"

Cody bit his lip.  "I....don't know.  She didn't answer her phone."

The outside door opening and closing brought their attention to Shay who had just entered.  

"Hey!"  She greeted.  When no one responded, but just stared at her, she said, "What?"

"You're late," Frank stated harshly.  He had been worried out of his mind.  "Where the hell have you been?"

Shay blinked hard and glanced around the room.  "Well, excuse me, Mister Short Term Memory.  Your Blazer needed a tune-up...remember?  I took it in to the shop...ring a bell?"

Frank searched his memory.  For the life of him he could not remember her making an appointment to take his car into the dealership.  He did remember them talking about needing to get it done.  "No, I don't remember."

Shay shrugged and slapped down the copy of the bill and receipt from the dealership.  "Well, that's where I was."

Frank frowned and rubbed his forehead.  He was getting one hell of a full-blown headache.  "I really don't remember, Shay.  Did you write the appointment down?"

"Did I miss something?  What's with the third degree?" She asked while walking to her desk and tossing her purse down. 

"Maybe in all the excitement, you just lost that piece of information," Jake suggested.

"What excitement?" Shay asked, returning to the table.  

Frank opened his mouth to respond but it was not his voice that answered.

"Someone was using the Boss for target practice this morning," Cody quipped.

Frank stood as Shay approached him and caught her hands when she started to inspect him for wounds.  "I'm fine.  The only damage was done to the windshield and headrest of your car.  I had to get a rental while the police have it impounded for evidence."

"Screw the damn car, Donovan!" she cried and hugged him fiercely.  She knew he was uncomfortable with showing affection in front of co-workers, but, under the circumstances, she did not give a damn.  She kissed his neck and ear softly and whispered, "You could have been killed."  Her breath caught in her throat as the tears welled in her eyes.  "I...can't breathe."

"Shhhhh," he shushed her and stroked her hair softly.  He nodded to the others when they moved toward the break room to give Frank a moment with his wife.  He pressed his lips to her forehead in a tender kiss.  "Well, we're just full of frights this morning, aren't we?"

"This isn't funny," she snapped.  "I'm sorry...just the thought of something happening to you..."

"Hmmm...seems I was thinking the same thing when I couldn't find you.  Why didn't you answer your phone?"

Shay dug into the pocket of her green suit dress and pulled out her phone.  "Forgot to charge the battery," she said sheepishly.

"Way to go, Donovan," he replied and kissed the tip of her nose.  "Well, I'm glad you're okay."

"Sorry for the scare, Tiger."  She pulled away from him and gave his hand one last squeeze.  

"Okay, so what's the scoop, Frank?" Alex said when Frank and Shay entered the break room.

"What can I tell you?  No evidence was found on the rooftops.  The slug removed from the headrest was from a high caliber rifle.  They're trying to ID the slug and doing the routine check of the local gun shops.  Cody, you can do some checking on that."

"Who's got it in for you enough to take a shot at you," Jake questioned.  When Frank shot him a 'you've got to be kidding me' look, he said.  "It was rhetorical."

"Sounds like we've got our work cut out for us," Alex commented.  

"More than you know," Frank replied under his breath.  If they had been able to hack into his files, they would know just how impossible it was going to be to narrow down the number of people who might want him dead.  

Shay stood with Jake, leaning against the counter.  She accepted the cup of coffee he handed her as she watched Frank intently.  His face was a mask of utter blankness, uncaring and unfeeling.  Only when his eyes locked onto hers could she read his fear.  A fear that ran far deeper than the fear of losing one's life.  

"No!"  Shay shouted suddenly.  

All eyes turned in her direction.  No one had been speaking.  "No what, Shay?" Jake asked, frowning.  

Frank sighed and lowered his eyes slightly.  She was getting far too good at reading his thoughts.  "It's for the best, Shay."

She sat her cup in the sink and moved to the seat next to him, gently covering his hand with hers.  "Don't say it.  I won't do it."

He turned his hand over and grasped hers firmly but lovingly.  "The children, Mrs. Donovan.  You and the children are worth more than my life.  If someone _is_ after me, and we don't know that for sure, then there is no way I will allow my family to be in the line of fire."

Jake almost smirked when Shay's brow arched.  It was the patented Donovan brow lift.  With Frank it was a 'you dare to question me' kind of thing.  With Shay it was more of a 'you talkin' to me?' attitude.  If it were not for the seriousness of the situation, he might find himself laughing out loud.  But this was serious and he waited for Shay's response and hoped Frank did not wind up needing an ambulance by the time she was finished with him.

"YOU won't allow?!  YOU!  For the love of Pete..."  She was so angry she could barely form a sentence.  

"Don't get all defensive, Agent Donovan," Frank began in his 'boss' tone.  

That irritated her further.  "And don't you get all bossy, Agent Donovan," she replied harshly while at the same time poking his chest with her forefinger.  "My husband is in there somewhere...and I want to talk to _him_," she demanded.

Frank grabbed her hand to keep her from poking a hole through his chest.  "Baby."  He spoke softly, trying to calm her and make her see reason.  "Do you want to take the chance?  Do you want the babies put in danger if there's another attempt?"

"No," she whispered, bowing her head slightly.  The last thing she would ever want is _any_ harm to come to their children.  "But..."

"No, buts, Ash.  I think it would be best if you take the kids to Dad's for awhile."

Shay nodded.  She could not bear to look at him.  He would know she had no intention of leaving him, even for a short while.  Yes, she would take the children to her father's, but she would stay at her husband's side. 

************

To be continued...


	3. Attempt Two

Sighing in irritation, Frank sat back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk.  After a week holed up in the nest, the walls were starting to close in on him.  

As he had insisted, Shay had taken clothing and other necessities for their children to Thomas' that very evening after the attempt on his life.  He did not know why he was surprised when she returned to their home, just as insistent that she would not leave her husband, no matter how stubborn he was.  

He had interrupted her during her tirade, swept her up into his arms, and carried her to their bed.  He had been overcome with a sense of dread that they might soon be separated for eternity and he wanted, no, _needed_ to feel her love for him.  That night they had loved with power, intensity, and devotion unmatched in their lifetime.  When the night was over and the harsh reality of the morning crashed through their haven, he told her he would be staying at the nest since she would not distance herself from him. 

She managed to surprise him because she did not put up an argument.  Instead, she made sure he understood that she would also be staying at the nest.   He only nodded in response.  There had been no room for protest.  They had expressed their love to each other in as many ways imaginable the previous night.  He knew her devotion, he knew her love, and he knew her resolve was unbreakable.   By him.  The children were another matter.  

Behind her back he had called Thomas and arranged for Ariel to call her mother that night.  When Shay had heard the plea of her daughter and then her oldest son that they missed and wanted their mama to come home, it did not take long for her resolve to break.  She left only after the assurances that Frank would not be alone.  The nights she did not stay at the nest, Jake, Cody or Alex would stay with him.  It was an arrangement amicable to everyone concerned.  As it happened, it was Jake and Frankie who stayed with him last night.  

Frankie had left Jessie with Deirdre, who doted on her granddaughter tremendously.  Shay had spent the night with Thomas and the kids and had not yet made it in to work.  She called earlier saying she had a couple of errands to do to help Dad out while he was taking care of the kids.  

Now a week had passed and they had delved into case after case, further unlocking the darkness of his past.  Some cases were so horrendous he wondered himself how his mind was not a scarred mass of twisted goop.  Their list of suspects stretched for pages and each one was eliminated or kept on the list for further investigation.  It was slow, tedious and zapped his mental strength.  

He was starting to think, after the week went by with no additional attempts on his life, that it was just a fluke.  He had been in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Suddenly he heard a crash from down below and a loud curse from Cody.  His feet dropped from the desk and he rose swiftly to check on the young computer-whiz.  He had barely stood from his chair when he heard the sound of glass breaking behind him.  A bullet tore through the window and then his chair before smashing into his computer screen, causing the equipment to explode in a myriad of electrical squalls.  He dropped to the floor and crawled to the doorway, escaping his office quickly.  The bastard was out there!  

"Jesus!" Jake yelled, hearing the commotion both upstairs and downstairs.  

"Frank!"  Frankie cried out in concern.

"I'm fine, Frankie," he replied running down the stairs.  "Get some vests...let's check out those rooftops."

Within minutes Frank, Jake, Frankie, and Alex were scouring the rooftops of the nearby buildings that overlooked Donovan's office.  The only thing they found was a spent shell casing from a high caliber rifle.  The shooter left nothing else behind.  Not even a footprint.

When they returned to the nest, Cody had the surveillance tapes up hoping they had caught something from one of their exterior cameras.  All that showed was a figure on the rooftop behind Donovan's office.  A ski mask covered the hitter's face completely.  Zooming in on the segment of tape revealed nothing.

"Wait!" Alex interrupted the silence.  "Roll it back a bit, Code.  Yeah, there.  When the shooter turns his head.  Is that hair sticking out of the bottom of his ski mask?" 

Cody zoomed in to check as all eyes focused on the screen.  "Looks blonde," he commented with a nod.

"Well, that's a big help.  So the shooter has blonde hair, that eliminates...oh...no one," Frank stated.  No one missed the sarcasm that dripped from his voice.

"Take it easy there, BigGuy," Frankie soothed.  "We'll get him."  She patted Frank's arm and turned to Jake.  "I'm calling Mom and going to pick up Jessie.  She was going to drop her off here, but that's not a good idea now that we know the hitter doesn't have a problem showing up here."

Jake nodded his agreement and walked her to the door.  "I'll see you and Jessie later tonight, baby.  

"Watch over him, my love.  Outside he's rock hard.  Inside he's a bundle of nerves," she whispered into his ear before nipping the lobe softly.  "I love you."  With a soft kiss goodbye, she was out the door and sliding into her Expedition.  

When Jake returned to the others, he heard Alex ask, "What do you _really_ know about your wife's past, Frank?"  Her voice was cold, clinical.  Interrogating.

The hackles at the back of Jake's neck rose and anger built swiftly.  Alex was as much as accusing Shay.  He wanted to launch into Alex, but held back.  It was Frank's place to defend his wife's honor.

"Alex, you're out of your mind," Frank growled.  It was all he could do not to lash out at her physically.

"Maybe I am...and I hope I am, but you've never ignored our hunches before.  Are you going to ignore mine, now?" she questioned.  Her ice blue eyes shone with diligence, she knew she was in the right.  She had every intention of investigating any lead, no matter how slight or farfetched.   

"Alex, you are so off the mark with this one," Jake spat out in irritation.  

"Am I?  What do you, Frank...any of us...know of Shay's past?" Alex questioned, eyeing each of the men in the room slowly.  "You knew her at Quantico, Jake.  That's it.  From the time you met her," she pointed to Frank, "in Colombia until you woke up in that hospital...you were mostly unconscious.  How well did you get to know her then?  And then she disappeared for thirteen months."

Frank did not know how to respond to that statement.  After all, it was true.  He had realized after Shay had dropped back into his life to replace Monica as his profiler, he had fallen in love with her the moment he had looked into her sky-blue eyes when he found her bound and gagged, lying on that small cot, held captive by Jorge Espinosa and Roberto Uribe. ** 

"She didn't disappear.  I knew exactly where she was and kept in contact with her the entire time," Jake insisted.  Inwardly he flinched.  It was the first time he had ever verbally admitted that he had lied to his boss and friend the entire time Shay had disappeared from his life.  "I was there when she gave birth to LJ.  What?  Did you think that was a lie, too?"

Alex shook her head in frustration.  She knew voicing her suspicions of Shay would merit her a tongue-lashing and perhaps, losing her friends completely, but there was something going on with Shay.  Whether they saw it or not, she could.  Top on that Shay was mysteriously 'missing' during each of the attempts on Frank's life.  In her eyes, it was worth looking into.

"You just don't get it, do you Jake?" Alex said, exasperated.  "Tell me...what was Shay before you met back up with her in Colombia?  Just what faction of the government did she work for?  Yes, we know about DEA...before that?  How well do you know your friend?"

Jake's mouth opened and closed several times, but could form no words.  He was so thoroughly angry with Alex he could not speak.  He could, but the only words that would come out were profane.  

Meanwhile, Cody had moved to his computer and began looking into Shay's background.  He would put Alex's mind to rest and they could get back to the matter at hand.  While he searched the government database for her records, he glanced at Frank.  He had long since removed himself from Alex's argument and sat alone at the briefing table, his head cradled in his hands.  Alex had tossed one mean curveball at him and it seemed to have him in a tailspin.  

Cody was confident he could end the argument quickly and gasped audibly when he ran headlong into a virtual brick wall.

Frank's head snapped up at the sound of Cody's gasp.  "Cody?"

"Na-nothing," Cody lied.

"Nothing?  What the hell are you doing?" Frank demanded.  He reached Cody's terminal in a few quick steps.  Jake and Alex joined him quickly.

"I...I thought if I could access Shay's background, I could put Alex's mind at ease.  But..." he trailed.

"But what?" Alex whispered.  Her gut tied in knots.  All at once she realized what her hunch meant.  If Shay was the hitter, all this time she had spent with Frank was a lie.  She never loved him, never cared and only bore his children because it was part of an assignment.  Lord, how cold and callous could a woman be?

"Other than her basic information, her files are locked.  Locked so tight you would need to be the President of the United States to unlock them.  Trust me...I can't hack this file."

Frank turned away and steeled himself against the accusations toward the woman he held in his arms at night.  The passion and love that radiated from her very being, she would have to be one hell of an actress to fake those emotions.  There was also her kind and gentle nature when dealing with their precious children.  No.  Not his Shay.  Not his Ashling.  Down to his toes, he knew Shay could not be behind this.  _Jamais_.

He heard the outside door open.  It had to be Shay.  He had to make his decision.  "Not a word about this, Alex.  You do what you have to.  I'll do what I have to," he said elusively.   "You treat her any differently...you'll answer to me," he threatened softly before Shay entered the room

"Frankie called me..." Shay's voice stammered from concern.  "Another attempt?  Please tell me you're all right, Tiger."  She hugged him fiercely and was just a bit surprised when he returned the hug without hesitation. 

"I'm fine, Ash.  Just fine," he replied and slowly pulled away and led her to the monitor.  "Cody's camera caught this on tape.  Not much to go on."  

Everyone watched in fascination as she ran a hand over the stilled video of the hitter.  It looked almost as if she was stroking a loved one.  "Blue eyes," she whispered softly.  "Cold, unfeeling.  Blue.  Ice."  

Shay turned away from the monitor and walked as if in a trance to the break room.  She had seen those eyes before, somewhere she could not remember.  A place best left forgotten.

--

Jamais = never

**Read "A Shock to the System" by Dreamy http://fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=734434

************

To be continued...


	4. Alex's Discovery

Shay yawned and stretched her tired muscles.  "I'll never understand how you can sit in one place for so long," she commented to Cody, who sat next to her as they ran checks on the remaining thirty names on the list of suspects.

Cody shrugged.  "Beats me."  

"I'm gonna take a break, Code.  I need to call Dad."  She smiled slightly and flipped open her phone.  

"Hey, Dad."

"Hey, kiddo.  Frank and Jake just left.  He filled me in on what happened today."

"Dad..."

"You don't have to ask, Baby.  I've already made arrangements to go today.  If it's okay with you, I'd like to take the munchkins with me.  After all...where I'm headed...it's the most secure location in the world."

Shay choked out a small laugh.  "Sure, Dad."

"It'll be okay."

"Thank you, Daddy," she replied in a small voice.  It still amazed her how she had grown up hating him and now she could not picture her life without him in it.  "For everything."

"No need, Pumpkin.  I'd do anything for that man of yours."  

"Me, too, Dad.  Me too.  Call me as soon as you get there."

"Where'd you send your dad?" Cody asked when she closed her phone.  

Shay smiled thinly and shrugged.  He knew she could not say.  Most things in Thomas Renquist's life remained the same.  Classified.  She countered with a question of her own.  "Where's Alex?"

Cody cast his eyes away.  How could he tell her Alex was out investigating her?  "She just said she had something to take care of.  You know Alex."

Shay nodded absently.  Jake had gone along with Frank to see the kids and fill Thomas in on what had been going on.  Alex was out.  Frankie was at home with Jessie.  And she knew Cody was looking forward to his evening at home with Katie.  "Alllrighty then.  Back to work for us," Shay sighed.  

************

Striding purposefully into the Chevrolet dealership where Shay had taken Frank's Blazer the previous week, she flashed her badge and requested a meeting with the service manager.  Like most businesses, the attention brought on by law enforcement was negative and usually brought on the fear of losing customers the longer attention was brought to them.  

Alex found herself quickly ushered into the service manager's office.  "Look...I'll make this quick.  Last week, Shay Donovan brought her husband's Blazer in for some work...."

"Just a moment please.  May I see your credentials?"  he asked and held out his hand.

Alex grunted and flipped them open into his hand.  "Now..Mr..." she glanced around the desk and found his nameplate.  "Hilliard...about Mrs. Donovan?"

She waited while he punched his keyboard to bring up her file.  "Yes, Agent Cross.  Mrs. Donovan brought a Blazer in last week.  Tune-up."  

Alex nodded.  So, that much was true.  "Approximately how long was Mrs. Donovan here?"

Mr. Hilliard looked thoughtful before punching the intercom button.  "Miguel...come in here, please."  He smiled thinly at Alex while they waited for Miguel.

"Sir?" Miguel came to the door.

"Last week when Mrs. Donovan was in, how long was she here?"

Miguel searched back to the day Mrs. Donovan was in.  He remembered her because she always brought her vehicle to him.  She was always pleasant and was very pretty.  It was hard to forget her.  "Mrs. Donovan asked me to arrange a ride for her.  She didn't wait on her vehicle, she came back for it a few hours later."

"Do you know where she went when she left here?" Alex asked anxiously.

"I can only tell you she asked our Courtesy Driver to take her downtown."  Miguel nodded and left to return to his station.

Alex thanked the manager and quickly left the dealership.  Downtown.  The first attempt on Frank's life happened downtown.  Coincidence?  Alex did not believe in coincidences.  This brought Shay closer into the picture.  Too close.

************

To be continued...


	5. Theories and Testaments

"Alex thinks what?" Frankie cried in disbelief.  "That's...preposterous."  

Jake nodded and voiced his agreement, but Frank sat stoically silent.  Shay's reaction to the monitor that day had astounded him.  No, he did not believe his wife wanted to harm him, but whatever caught her attention in that monitor turned her ice-cold.  He would be lying if he said it did not bother him.

"Look...I know it's a lot to ask, but if you can swing it...can you ask around?  See if you can find out if anyone knows about a new hitter in town?  One working freelance?  Anything," Frank asked, almost defeated.  

Frankie's gaze washed over her friend.  Surely he did not believe Shay, his wife, her 'sistah', had _anything_ to do with this.  "I'll do anything for you, Frank Donovan, but know this...I will _never_ help prove the woman you married, someone who is the closest thing I have to a sister, is out to kill you."

Frank's eyes locked with hers in understanding.  He had no desire for her to prove that Shay wanted him dead.  He wanted her help in _disproving_ it.  "Ash is _not_ behind this, Frankie.  I don't need anyone's help on that score.  What I need is help finding the shooter.  You know the people on the street better than any of us.  You have more connections with the CPD.   I need you to use those connections.  Help find this hitter before his gun finds me."

Frankie nodded, satisfied.  "As long as we understand that I refuse to investigate Auntie Shay," she said, her voice softening as her baby daughter toddled into the room, followed by Deirdre.  

"Understood...and appreciated," Frank replied.  He stood and hugged mother and daughter softly.  With a whispered "thank you" he headed for the door.  "Stay home, Jake.  I can make it back to the nest alone."

Jake tried to protest but the stern, icy look bestowed upon him by Frank caused him to stay put.  "Have it your way, Donovan."  They exchanged nods as Frank closed the door behind him.

The drive back to the nest was uneventful and Frank found himself alone with his wife.  "Where are Cody and Alex?"

"Alex disappeared hours ago and I told Cody to go home because it was my turn to baby sit you."  She chuckled slightly when he took offense to being 'baby sat'.  "And now that you're here..." she punched the security system up on Cody's terminal and set all the exterior alarms.  With that done, she retraced her steps back to her husband and wound her arms around his neck.  "How ya doin', Tiger?"

He smiled and kissed her forehead softly.  "I'm alive.  That's a start."

"A damned good start," she whispered and trailed her hands tenderly down his chest. 

He groaned softly when her breath fanned the shell of his ear.  He knew she wanted to make love, and heavens knew he could toss her to the floor and take her on the cold cement, but something just was not right.  He pulled away from her and headed toward the small room that contained several cots for those nights they just could not make it home.

"Frank..." Shay began.

He sat down on the nearest cot and stretched his long body out on the uncomfortable device.  Reaching for the cot next to the on he was in, he pulled it butt up against his and indicated that she lay down next to him.   When she did, he cradled her within his arms as best he could.  He just wanted to hold her, hold his lifeline and never let it go.

"Frank...I called Dad today."

"MmmmHmmm," he murmured.  He tenderly rested his chin on the top of her head as he caressed her arms.  

"I asked him to...to find out who ordered the hit on you," she admitted.

Frank's body stiffened.  "Then you think the government is behind this?"  It was the same thought that had spun in his head since day one.  "What makes you think that, Ash?   Why haven't you said anything?"

"I..."  How did she tell him when she had no idea why she felt the way she felt.  In her experiences within the factions she had worked, they used you until you were no longer worth anything.  If you were not literally dead, you were dead enough inside that you were no longer a threat.  She was afraid she was headed toward the latter.  She knew he was going to be in the former if the hitter was not stopped.

She tried again.  "I don't know...just a feeling.  After you saw him today...he feels the same way.  If you had been...just as you are...FBI...Justice department...I might not feel this way.  But...you went deeper...into the darkness of the government.  And you know things they need to keep hidden.  You scare them.  If they can't control you...by God, they'll kill you."  

By the time she had finished talking, she had pulled away from him and was sitting cross-legged on her cot with her back to him.  She was crying and it tore at his very soul.  He moved over to her cot and straddled her from behind.  He pulled her back against him and wrapped his arms around her.  "You know me now, Ash.  You've glimpsed into the dark recesses," he whispered against her neck.  He was beyond caring about what the people he used to work for felt about him.  She was all that mattered to him in his life.  "Can you still love someone who has touched and tasted such evil as I have?"

He gasped when she pulled from his embrace and lifted herself from the cot.  For just a brief moment, he was afraid of her answer and the way she had moved away from him so quickly.  Then he smiled.  That smile turned into a devastating grin when he watched her push the cots around a bit and removed a few of the small mats from their surface and placed them on the floor.  

She returned to stand in front of him and held out her hand to him in invitation.  "Can I still love someone such as you?"  She leaned down until her lips pressed gently against his ear and whispered, "Let's find out, shall we?"

What plagued him earlier had disappeared.   Subconsciously he had dreaded her discovering the things in his past that she had uncovered while searching for possible suspects.  And what she had seen was only the tip of the iceberg.  He knew now, without a doubt, that whatever discoveries she had made about him, made little difference in the way she felt about him.  

He was lost in her beauty and love as she undressed for him and knelt on the thin mat awaiting him.  That she could love him so unconditionally still amazed him.  That he could return that love with such intensity that his entire being begged for her nearness, astounded him.  She held such power over him and yet he did not fear her power.  She ruled him.  Heart and soul.  

Shay cocked her head to one side as she waited while he shed his clothing.  His effortless beauty affected her with the same force every time she saw his body in its natural state.  She found herself wishing, as she did most times, that she were an artist who could capture such exquisite splendor to share with those unfortunate souls who did not have such grace in their lives.

As he knelt before her and gathered her into his arms, she whispered, "I can answer your question, if you'd like."  His hands roamed freely over the silky skin of her back and she felt him nod and murmur something unintelligible against her throat.  His touch was magical and her pulse quickened with each touch and kiss.  _"Quelqu'un comme vous; je vous aimerai pour l'éternité_."

Frank went still when he heard the sweet testament of her love.  He wanted to laugh and cry at the same time.  There was nothing as precious to him, save his children, than the woman he held in his arms.  "_L'éternité n'est pas assez longtemps pour notre amour,_" he whispered, staring into her bright blue eyes while he lowered her to the mat.  Together they showed each other the depth and power of their love.  Not with their words, but with their bodies.

--

"Quelqu'un comme vous; je vous aimerai pour l'éternité = Someone such as you; I will love thee for eternity.

L'éternité n'est pas assez longtemps pour notre amour = Eternity is not long enough for our love.

************

to be continued...


	6. Thomas goes to Washington

Thomas was never so glad to see his former secretary, who stood awaiting his arrival when he deplaned at Dulles International Airport.  A petite redhead, she stood on tiptoe at the far end of the departure/arrival waiting area attempting to get his attention.  

With LJ and Ariel each grasping a hand and baby Zack cradled in the pouch around his chest, he had his hands full.  He smiled gratefully when Myra lifted Ariel into her arms and took LJ by the hand.  

"Mr. Renquist.  I never thought I would see a day when you were covered in children."  She laughed softly.

"These beautiful little bundles are my grandchildren, Myra," he informed her, his chest puffing out a bit with pride as he introduced each of the children to her.  

"They are darling, Sir," she said as they went in search of his luggage.  "I made the arrangements you requested."

"No problems?"

"None.  They were only too happy to accommodate you.  And I will be happy to stay with the children while you conduct your business," she offered.

"Thank you, Myra.  I knew I could count on you," he replied.  She had always been a loyal friend, as well as employee, and he trusted her implicitly.  

--

LJ's eyes widened as their car approached the large domed building.  He saw pictures of it in the books Mama and Daddy showed him.  Daddy said it was the White House.  It was white; he had to admit.  There was something important about it, but he just could not remember.  

Once inside, a former underling, Derek Hardy, greeted Thomas.  "Thomas!  So good to see you!  And...you brought ...?" 

Thomas laughed.  He never talked about his family, so it was no surprise that his grandchildren presented quite the picture.  "These are my grandchildren.  Myra, would you take them to..."

"The Lincoln room," she replied and nodded.  "Come along, kids.  We'll go visit the kitchen first and get those little tummies full."  She smiled at Thomas as she lifted little Zack from his arms before leaving him to his business.

"What brings you here, Thomas?" Derek asked while trying to hide his nervousness.  

"I need to meet with the BigGuy, Derek," he replied as they strode through the halls toward the business end of the White House.

"No can do, Thomas.  You no longer have the clearance," Derek insisted, stopping in front of his office.

"Trust me...clearance I've got.  Your permission, I don't need."  

Derek watched as his former superior strode without pause into the office of the Director of the CIA, Mitchell Wingard...Thomas' replacement.  

It did not take long for Derek's intercom to come to life and Wingard demand for him to join them.  He closed the door behind him and sat in the chair next to Thomas, while Wingard reclined superiorly behind his desk.  

"What brings you here?" Wingard asked coldly.  

Thomas saw little need for beating around the bush.  "A little birdie told me that someone has called a hit on a former operative.  I want to know who and why."

"Even if that were something we did, you are in no position to demand _anything_."  Wingard sat forward and leaned his elbows on his desk.  "How your sorry ass even got past the gates of this building, I'll never know."

The office door opening interrupted them.  "Now you know," the man who entered the room informed Wingard.  

"Mr. President!" Wingard cried in surprise as everyone in the room rose to their feet.

"Please gentlemen, be seated," he said, indicating they should sit.  "Now, Mitchell...I believe Thomas asked you a question."

"What's your concern in this Renquist?" Wingard demanded.

"You putz.  You know damn well that Frank Donovan is married to my daughter.  He's the father to my three grandchildren.  Do I need a higher concern than that?"  Thomas demanded.  "Now, you sanctimonious son-of-a-bitch...you tell me why a hitter has been sent after my son?"  _My son.  _That came out so naturally.  And it felt right.  He never thought, after the way his daughter had grown so detached from him, he would ever have a family.  Now, he would protect them with whatever resources he could muster, even if it meant pulling in an old friend and now President of the United States.

Wingard made no attempt to answer.  He refused to be bullied by the man whose former position he now held.  

"Answer me, Mitchell.  Who ordered the hit on Frank Donovan?!"

"Tell him, Mitchell," The President ordered.  

"No, I won't betray that information, but I agree that it needed to be done.  Donovan has become a loose cannon.  He refuses to acknowledge his former brethren.  He refuses to provide assistance when it is vital to national security," Wingard explained.

"Well, now.  If that isn't the biggest pile of crap I've ever heard," Thomas replied indignantly.  "The only reason he would refuse you if he felt it was no longer his duty.  He's not your operative any longer.  Are you insisting he should do ghost work when you deem it in _your_ best interest?"

When neither Wingard nor Derek replied, he continued.  "I will go on the assumption that _you _ordered the hit on my son, Wingard.  You're just stupid enough to do something like that.  Call it off, you bastard.  Call back your operative before my son is killed.  And if my daughter or grandchildren get caught up in your sick and twisted mission...I'll take great pleasure in ripping out your heart and feeding it to you before you die."

"It...she...can't be called off," Derek stammered.  "She was programmed to perform this mission.  No remorse, no memory...no stopping.  If the time came to activate her, there would be no going back.  The mission would be carried out until the target was nullified."

Thomas slumped back into his chair.  The only way to stop the hit was to stop the hitter.  He had to find this woman before she hit her mark.  "Who is she?"  He whispered.  

Derek handed Thomas the file.  "I'm sorry, Thomas.  I had no idea her involvement."

Thomas gasped in horror when he saw the face of the woman programmed to assassinate Frank Donovan.  _Oh dear Lord...fate is a twisted mistress._  

************

to be continued...


	7. A lie and A Lead

"Where's Shay?" Alex demanded as she strode into the nest and straddled a chair at the briefing table.

Frankie looked up sharply and gave Alex a cold glare.  She and Jake had arrived just moments before Alex.  "You just missed her.  She was going to meet her dad at the airport."

"What is it, Alex?" Frank demanded gruffly as he excited the bathroom.  His hair was still damp from his shower and he paused while straightening his sweater to fix Alex with an icy stare.  

"I just have some questions for Shay.  Like where she disappeared to downtown while your car was in the shop.  And where she was when that bullet took out your computer upstairs."  Alex did not like being the bad guy, but there were questions that needed answers and like it or not, she was going to get those answers.

Jake slammed his fist on the table hard enough to cause both Frankie and Alex to jump slightly.  "Damn it, Alex...you're looking for something that's not there."

"Maybe, maybe not," Alex replied coolly.  "But I'm doing my job.  Like it or not."

"Not," Frankie stated plainly.  "Look.  Jake and I've done some checking.  There's a rumor flying around that there's an A-Number-One assassin in town and it's big news to the locals.  I have a meeting with a snitch later today that promises some good intel.  Cross your fingers boys and girls...and we might have our shooter before the day's out."

"I'm going with you," Frank insisted, sitting down next to Alex.

"Nope.  Not gonna happen, Donovan," Frankie insisted.  "Kip won't talk with unfamiliars.  If you want this information, you'll let me handle this."

"Fine," he practically growled.  He was tired of all the waiting.  Waiting for answers, waiting for leads, waiting for the next attempt on his life.  

"We know this is tough, Frank..." Jake began.

"You have no idea."  On one hand he had two people who wanted nothing but to find the hitter.  On the other hand he had one agent who was bound and determined to prove his wife was up to no good.  

"Besides," Cody interjected.  "You have that meeting in a couple hours.  Budgets and all that."

"Sonofabitch," he ground out.  He had forgotten all about that.  As Shay was fond of saying, _Yippee for me_.  The annoying chirp of his cell phone interrupted his self-pitying thoughts; he flipped it open quickly, "Donovan."  

Jake, Frankie, Alex, and Cody could not help but notice the crestfallen look that appeared on his face as he listened to the caller.  The only words he spoke were, "Fine.  I'll be there."

Frank closed his phone slowly and slid it back into his pocket before locking eyes with Alex.  "That was my father-in-law.  He asked if I would pick him and the kids up at the airport in two hours."

"What?" Jake gasped, astounded.  Frankie's eyes had widened and her mouth gaped slightly, but she could not speak.  

"I'm sorry, Frank," Alex whispered.  

"It can't be," Cody stammered.

Frank nodded and looked around at the faces of his friends and co-workers.  Slowly, deliberately he voiced the thoughts that cluttered his mind.  "I do NOT believe my wife is trying to kill me.  Let that be first and foremost.  That she has not been telling the truth and hiding things behind my back, that has come to be a bit painfully obvious."  He rubbed a hand across his mouth trying to compose himself.  What was Shay up to?  Why was she lying to not only him but also her friends?  What was she hiding?   "Alex...find out what she's up to.   Jake, Frankie...find that shooter."

"What about me?" Cody asked, feeling a bit left out.

"Help me with my budget notes, or there will be no SOG to worry about," he growled as he left the room.

************

Frankie warned Jake not to press hard on her snitch and to let her handle things.  Kip was a homeless street kid, who kept his ear to the ground and always managed to come up with helpful information whenever she was caught between a rock and a hard place.  

"There he is," Frankie motioned toward the corner bus stop.  

As they neared, Jake could see the "kid" was maybe seventeen years old.  Life on the streets, and his unkempt appearance, made him look older than his actual years.  

Kip smiled warily at Frankie Shaw and the man who walked at her side.  A quick introduction later, he discovered the man was her husband.  Funny, he never expected Frankie's husband to be so...short.

"Hey, Shaw...got something for me?" Kip asked, pushing his long, wiry brown hair from his eyes.

"You know the drill, Kip.  If I like what I hear, you get paid."  Frankie watched his hazel eyes travel from her to Jake and back again while he made up his mind whether or not to speak in front of the stranger.  "He's cool, Kip.  I wouldn't have married him otherwise."

Jake grimaced while Kip laughed at the offhanded joke.  "Okay, Frankie...you know the warehouse I usually crash at?"

"Sure do."

Kip nodded.  "A couple weeks ago, I heard someone nosing around the place.  I checked it out and stumbled across someone unpacking a crate."

Frankie raised a brow.  "And you want me to pay you for that?" she asked sarcastically.

"No! Listen...whoever it was...they were unpacking weapons.  I caught sight of a couple rifles...then I took off."

Frankie looked at Jake who nodded.  This could be the hitter.  "Alright, Kip...here's your money."  She handed over a wad of bills.  "And you know...if you're jerkin' my chain, I'll be back for my change."

Kip gulped at the threat and knew she was serious.  He nodded before disappearing into the nearby alley.

************

to be continued...


	8. Shay's Dark Secret

Alex weaved in and out of the downtown traffic until she reached the location Cody called out to her on her ear mic.  She picked Shay's Celica out amongst the row of vehicles that lined the city street and waited patiently until she spied the woman in question leaving an old, architecturally esthetic building less than a block from her vehicle.

Alex waited until Shay pulled out into traffic before approaching the building.  Large signs announcing to the world what was contained within its walls did not mar the beauty of the building.  Only when she climbed the large steps to the darkened glass door did she find out what the building housed.  Shaking her head, she turned away and headed back for the nest.  Shay had a lot of explaining to do.

--

By the time Alex returned to the nest, Cody had gone to the airport to pick up Thomas and the Donovan children.  Frankie and Jake had not made it back from their meeting with the informant and Frank was across town at the department's budget meeting.  It was just her and Shay, who was busying herself going through the background files on the suspects they had not yet eliminated.

Shay looked up to find Alex staring intently at her as if trying to read her mind.  "What's up, Alex?"

"You tell me, Shay.  Why all the lies, the secrecy?" Alex demanded as she pulled up a chair opposite her.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Shay replied and turned her attention back to the file.  How dare Alex question her like she was a common criminal?

Neither woman heard the door to the nest opening.  Neither knew that Frank, Jake and Frankie had entered the nest in time to hear Alex questioning Shay and waited in the wings to hear Shay's explanations for Alex's accusations.

"Don't pull that, Shay.  How's your father?  Did he arrive all right at the airport?" Alex asked harshly.  "Oh, that's right.  He called while you were gone earlier.  Cody's picking him up as we speak."

"Shit."  Shay closed the file slowly and looked up at Alex.  "Alex...I...just..."

Frank tensed and clutched the doorframe so tightly his knuckles turned white.  _Come on, baby.  Just tell her what you've been up to._

"Just what, Shay?  Can't deal with something to the point that you'll hide it from your family and friends?"  Alex stood up quickly and the chair toppled over behind her.  "Damn, girl.  Your mysterious disappearance had me believing you were the hitter."

Shay's jaw dropped in disbelief.  "Oh, Alex...how could you!"  She stood and moved around the table to face the other woman.  "This may sound like something out of a romance novel, but Frank is the last man on earth I would hurt.  He's my life.  The air I breathe.  My sun, my moon, my heaven.  I can promise you this...if something happens to that man...I don't know how I'll survive."

Alex nodded as she placed a gentle hand on Shay's shoulder.  "You have every reason to hate me, but I had to find out, Shay.  I had to follow every lead."  

Shaking her head, Shay replied, "I understand you were only doing what you had to do.  Your ultimate goal is to protect Frank and I can find no fault in that.  I would have done the same thing in your shoes."

"Then if you can forgive me for that, I hope you can forgive me for what I'm about to say," Alex said, moving away from Shay just to be safe.

"I'm listening," she responded.

Jake glanced over at Frank whose jaw was torqued so tight you could see the vein at the side of his jaw jump.  All knew eavesdropping was wrong, but if Shay was about to spill what was going on in her life, they were not about to interrupt.  

"I know where you've been going...I followed you today."  Alex watched as Shay's shoulders slumped and a hand flew to her mouth to cover the sob that threatened.

"Alex..."

"Tell them...tell _him_.  He deserves to know what's going on with you," Alex insisted softly.  

"It's just too...difficult.  It's easier to tell a stranger."  

Frank could not stand it any longer.  He heard the heartache in her voice and it ripped his control to shreds.  If he was the cause of her pain, he needed to know.  He had to make it right.  "What's easier to tell a stranger, Ash?" He whispered when he stood directly behind her.

Shay spun, her eyes wide with surprise.  She looked wildly from him to Alex and then spied Jake and Frankie in the doorway.  She shook her head, unable to speak.   She backed away slowly until she found the doorway to the break room.  She slid inside and bolted the door closed.  

"What the?" Frankie said entering the room further.  

"Where did she go today, Alex," Frank demanded.

Alex's eyes slid closed for a moment before meeting his.  "The Rebecca Leary Center," she whispered.

Frank and Jake exchanged clueless glances while Frankie released a perceptive gasp.  "What?"  Frank and Jake asked in unison.

"Women's Crisis Center," Frankie informed and headed to the break room and softly tapped on the door.  "Let me in, sis.  It's okay....it's just me."  She was relieved when she heard the bolt slide open and the door opened slightly.  

"Hey, girlfriend.  Wanna tell 'ol Frankie what the hell is going on?  Oof.." 

Shay threw her arms around Frankie as the flood of tears hit.  "I'm sorry," she said between sobs.

"Darlin...what's going on?" she asked softly.  She pulled a chair out with her foot and helped Shay into it before pulling up another chair for herself.  

"Too many times I found myself looking in the mirror...wishing the ugliness would go away.  Wishing I could disappear...fade away."  Shay took the tissue Frankie handed her and wiped the tears away.  "But I can't.  I would be standing there thinking these thoughts and hear one of the kid's laughter and cries and the ugliness would disappear for awhile."

"Yeah," Frankie whispered.  There were dark areas in her life, too.  She had an idea where Shay's head was.  "And Frank?"

"Oh no...Frank...Frank makes it all go away.  When he's near, I'm the way I know I want to be.  When he's away...it creeps back in.  I try not to let it...but I can't just ignore it anymore.  I did...for years.  Ignoring it didn't make it better."

"Darlin'...why are you hiding this?  Do you think Frank would have a problem with your seeking help?"

"Can he understand?  My past keeps coming back to haunt me, whether I'm asleep or awake.  I have to learn to deal with the things I did..."

The door opened quietly and Frank entered uninvited.  He had heard the last part of their conversation as he neared the door.  He tapped Frankie on the shoulder and nodded toward the door asking her to leave.  He was grateful when she rose and left the room, giving him a chance to talk to his wife alone.

"Frank..." Shay whispered before hiding her face in her hands.

Frank knelt before her and gently pried her hands away.  "Ashling...never doubt that I will be there for you.  No matter what you need.  It hurts to think you felt you had to go behind my back to seek the help you need."

"I'm sorry..." she cried when his arms came around her protectively.  "We've just been over this so many times.  I didn't want it to become a constant irritation between us."  His touch was always as much a comfort as it could be blissful and she leaned into it gratefully.  

"I can't pretend to know what you're going through," he whispered and rested his cheek against her head as it lay on his shoulder.  "You've been through some rough patches, Ash.  You've been in situations no one should be in."

"The worst thing, Frank...the worst thing..." she whispered against his neck and clutched him to her fiercely.  

"What, baby?"

"That it was part of my job..." 

He rocked her softly as she sobbed quietly in his arms and silently cursed the government that exploited her.  And he cursed himself ... did he not put Alex into those same situations?  He hated those that turned his wife's world upside down...and he hated himself because he was one of those people.

"Ash...be honest with me.  Do you ever hate me because of who I am...what I stand for?  Do you ever fear me...my touch?" 

"Your position, what you can order someone to do...yes, it scares the hell out of me.  Hate you?  No.  Maybe I would if you weren't who you are to me.  But I've seen your ups and downs; I've seen how it tears at you when you send your people into danger.  You may think you're a monster, but I know better.  I've never met a more honorable man than you, Mr. Donovan."

He stroked her back softly and pressed tiny kisses to her hair as she talked.  "And me...darling, do you fear me?"

Shay released a soft sigh.  "Haven't since the moment I laid eyes on you, Tiger.  You...your touch...releases me.  When I'm with you, I'm complete.  It's only when I'm alone that I can't stand the sight of myself."

"Here's the bottom line..." he began as Shay lifted her head from his shoulder to see his face clearly.  "You'll get the help you need..."

"It's not just that...yes, I have gone and do go for therapy.  But I also volunteer as a councilor," she admitted.

"You do?"

Shay nodded.  "It helps.  Helping others cope and deal with their situations has helped me...more than I can say.  I hope you'll let me continue..."

"Baby...when have I ever refused you?" He chuckled when Shay smiled.  

"Not too long ago, if I recall," she replied with a small grin.

"I never," he insisted.

"Yes, you did.  But...as long as you carry and give birth to the next few Donovans...I'm cool with it."

Frank laughed and kissed her closed eyelids.  "I'm glad this is out in the open..."

Shay's eyes flew open when she remembered that Alex had suspected her of being the hitter.  "Frank Donovan!  You DID NOT believe I tried to kill you!"

"Not for an instant," he responded.  He ran a gentle finger across her cheek before following it with soft kisses.

"I love you," she whispered.

"Ashling...I love you.  I hate that you're hurting and that I can't fix it for you.  But I'll support anything it takes to make you happy.  Are we clear on that?"

"Crystal, Tiger," she smiled and touched her forehead to his.

"Ready to catch a killer?" He asked as he stood and helped her to her feet.

"No one hurts my man," she stated emphatically.  

If she did not appear to be so serious he might have laughed.  But in the face of her own torment, she was ready to do battle for him.  She had a wealth of strength she was not fully aware of.  In time, she would learn to deal with her troubles and he would be there to support her.    In the meantime, someone was out to kill him.  Under orders no less.  

Frankie and Jake had left their meeting with Kip with an address to check out.  The hitter's possible location.  It was time the hunted became the hunter.

--

"Everything okay?" Jake asked when Frank and Shay emerged from the break room; their arms securely wrapped around each other waists.  

"Fine, Jake.  Things will be just fine," Shay assured and felt a gentle squeeze at her hip before Frank broke away and gathered everyone around the table in the briefing room to get the scoop from Frankie and Jake.

************

to be continued...   had y'all goin' for a bit didn't I?  C'mon...you REALLY thought it was Shay didn't you?  ~wink~ --Dreamy


	9. The Hunt Begins

Katie watched with amusement when Ariel spotted Cody in the terminal waiting area.  She tore away from her grandfather and launched herself at him calling "Unna Coewdeeee!"  Cody scooped her up and hugged her tightly and kissed her little cheek.  He would never admit it, but that little Donovan had stolen his heart and had it firmly wrapped around her little bitty finger.  She suddenly felt very envious of Shay and Frankie and their beautiful children.

"Not that I'm not happy to see you," Thomas said, laughing as he handed Zack over to Katie and lifted LJ up into his arms.  "Where's Frank?  I really need to talk to him."

Cody shrugged.  "He had a budget meeting and then was going back to the nest.  I guess he's there.  Hang on..."  Cody flipped the cell open and speed dialed Frank.  "Hey...yeah.  You're what?  Gimme the address.  Yes...see ya in a few."

Cody stabbed the 'end' button and closed the phone.  "Katie...I need you to take a taxi.  Take the kids back to our place," he insisted.

Katie was not about to argue.  He looked a bit on the frantic side.  She took Ariel's hand after he set her on her feet.  Thomas set LJ down and he wrapped his little fingers around his sister's hand.  "I'll take care of the kids..." she leaned forward to accept his brief kiss and watched in amazement as he ran off with Thomas Renquist in tow.

--

"What the hell's going on, Forrester?" Renquist demanded as he climbed into Cody's jeep.  

"Frank said they're on their way to check out a location where the hitter might be staying.  Apparently, Frankie's informant gave them a good tidbit of information."

Renquist nodded absently.  "Is Shay with them?"

"I can't say, but I would assume so."

"Step on it..."  He had to get to Shay. 

************

"Are we waiting for Cody?" Jake asked as he donned his Kevlar vest and attack gear.  

Frank looked up at the abandoned warehouse a block from their vantage point.  "No...let's do this.  Jake, Alex, Frankie...approach from the rear.  Shay and I will take the front."

Floor by floor they searched with hardly making a sound.  Hand signals conveyed orders, and each covered the other as room after room, floor after floor was searched.  

"Check in, Jake," Frank whispered.

"Nothing.  We're almost to the top floor."

"Same here."

Shay opened the door to the top floor and cringed when it creaked loudly.   She stepped through while Frank covered her.  When he entered the room he noticed the large crates that littered the room.  He motioned for Shay to check the crates to the right, while he moved off to the left.  

Peering around the closest crate, he saw Jake, Alex, and Frankie come into the room from the rear entrance.  Alex broke away and headed down the right side of the room, while Jake and Frankie went left.  He nodded to Jake as he made his way through the maze of crates.  

Frank heard a slight gasp from the ear mic.  "Check in," he whispered.  

  
"All clear," Alex responded softly.

"Here, too," Jake whispered.

"Shay...check in."

"Fine.  I'm fine," she finally responded.

Sure the room was clear, Frank ordered, "Meet up, people."

Frank turned to Shay as she emerged from behind the last crate to join the team.  "The hitter isn't here," he acknowledged her and started toward her, stopping suddenly when he saw the flash of fear in her eyes.

Quick as lightening, the muzzle of a .34 was shoved under Shay's chin and a shadowy figured stepped from behind the crate to use her as a human shield.  

Eight guns trained on the hitter as the four who held them gasped in surprise.  Behind Shay, stood an older, equally attractive version of herself.  

--

to be continued...


	10. Do or Die

"There's the van," Cody puffed excitedly and pulled his Jeep along side.  "Get a weapon and let's go."

"Got it covered, Forrester," Renquist informed, reaching into his jacket and pulling out the Glock holstered at his side.

Cody nodded his appreciation and both ran toward the warehouse.

--

Shay turned her head slightly, the gun embedding itself further into her throat.  "Mother...how...why..."

The woman scowled at the younger version of herself.  "Don't try to play on my sympathy.  I have no daughter, but I do have a job to do."  She trained hardened eyes on her objective.  Once he was eliminated... "Lower your weapons!" she demanded.  "It's you who is meant to die, but I have no problem in taking out the woman to achieve my goal."

Frank held steady aim on the woman.  He could easily take her out with one shot.  His only fear was the woman's hold on Shay and the gun held steadily to her throat.  He could see the firm grip the woman had on it and the finger that continued to squeeze the trigger.  If he fired, the woman could, and probably would, finger that trigger out of pure reflex and kill his greatest love.  "Back off!" he ordered his team.

"Smart move," Ariana Dennison spat, but grew agitated when none of them responded.  She shoved the gun harder into Shay's throat, causing her to choke spasmodically.

Frank locked eyes with his wife in desperation.  If he lowered his weapon he was as good as dead.  Chances were that she would be, too.  Even if Jake, Frankie, or Alex managed to get a shot off, Shay would be caught in the crossfire.  Silently she begged him to shoot and save himself, but he knew that was the one thing he could not do.  Deciding to take the chance that the woman would kill only him, Frank hissed,  "lower your fucking guns...now!"  He glanced left and right, making sure his orders were being followed as he slowly lowered his own guns.

Frank watched as a disconnected expression washed over the face of Shay's mother and she slowly pulled the gun from her daughter's throat to take aim at her target.  

Shay cried out in anguish at the sight of her mother's finger squeezing the trigger of the gun aimed at her husband's head.  Reflexively she wrenched at the arm that held her and slammed an elbow into the woman's stomach.  At the same time, the sound of a thundering boom echoed the warehouse as Ariana's gun fired.

"Frank!" Jake and Frankie screamed, watching his body lurch backward to fall to the ground.  Alex stood paralyzed as distant memories flooded over her, remembrances of watching their previous commander die in front of both her and Jake.

Shay watched with horror as he fell, but he was removed from her line of sight when she was pulled suddenly to the floor.  Opening her eyes, she found she lay atop her mother, their faces only inches apart.  She stared into eyes so like her own, lifeless from the bullet that entered through her forehead.  

Shay croaked out a groan and pushed away from her mother's body to see the unmoving form of her husband.  Scrambling forward, she lunged for him, pushing both Jake and Frankie out of her path.  "Frank, Frank!" she screamed, cupping his face tenderly.  

Hearing her frantic screams, he fought through the pain and breathlessness that had rendered him unconscious and he managed to choke in a short breath.  "Alive...can't...breathe...."  

Tears of relief cascaded down her cheeks when he spoke and his eyes fluttered open.  While Jake and Frankie worked at releasing him from the confines of his vest to allow him to breathe easier, Shay looked behind them to see her father holstering his gun.  _My God! It was Daddy that shot Mother!_  

Thomas, along with Cody, knelt to help Frank to a sitting position before moving to the dead body a short distance from them.  He shook his head softly and removed his jacket to place it over Ariana's face.  When he turned back to the group, he found his son and daughter in a tight, loving embrace.  To him, there was no better sight in the world.

"I only heard one shot," Shay said, looking up at her father.

Thomas nodded and sat down on a nearby crate.  "Simultaneous shots, I suppose.  I..." he looked at her, trying to gauge her feelings, "I...Shay..."

Shay sat back a bit, still wrapped in her husband's arms.  Looking from the prone body of her now dead mother back to her father, she said, "Daddy...why?  All those years...you let me believe she was dead."

Thomas released a heavy breath.  "For all intents and purposes, she was, honey.  Your mother was sent in to seduce me, to make me love her, make it easy for her to keep tabs on me," he began and looked off to the distance as the memories flooded his mind.  "It was years later, after you were born, that she could no longer deal with her assignment.  She was never meant for love and family.  She missed the action, the excitement.  Each day she drank herself into a stupor...each day she became less and less like the woman she had pretended to be.  Finally one day, in a drunken rage, she let it slip...who she really was.  I was devastated.  All those years, lied to by the woman I loved...being spied on by my own peers.  It was..."

"Betrayal," Shay whispered.  "But...the funeral...I remember it..."

Thomas touched a finger to her cheek as he continued, "yes, baby-girl.  I wanted her gone from your life.  You were nearly ten years old then, and already she had taken pains each day to make you hate me.  Each day she told you it was my fault that she drank, that I stayed away from you because you were such a disappointment as my child.  I wanted to erase her from our lives."

"So that's why Shay's files were locked so tight!" Cody exclaimed.

"You should have told me."  A deep frown furrowed her brow as she watched her father intently.  "I hated you for so long because I believed you had made her life such a hell she would rather have not lived it...if I had known."

"You would have hated what little you loved about your life, and I was not about to take that away from you.  Better you continue to hate the man you despised, than to hate the only person you ever loved."  

"Dad," she whispered as she went from her husband's arm to the tight embrace of her father.  "I do love you."

"I've waited a lifetime to hear those words," he admitted.

Cody moved to Alex and slid an arm around her shoulders.  "You okay, Cross?"

Alex gave a hesitant nod.  "I will be, Code.  I will be."

Shay pulled back to see her father's face clearly.  "Dad, was that my mother pulling out of your driveway that day?"

Thomas chuckled as he kissed her forehead.  "No, kiddo.  I was interviewing housekeepers."

"Oh!" 

Jake stared for a long moment at the body lying on the floor.  "What sick, twisted mind would send the mother of your wife to take you out?"

"What sick, twisted mind, indeed?" Thomas answered quietly.  

"And there was no other way...than to kill her?" Frankie asked incredulously.  What repercussions would this situation hold for Shay?  

"No," Thomas answered emphatically.  "If there were, believe me, I would not have killed her.  The conditioning that Ariana went through for such a job would have made her oblivious to anything but completing her objective.  If we would have stopped her this time, she would have found a way to come back and finish the job."

"I want to know who set this up," Frank demanded, fixing coal black eyes on to Shay's father.  

"When I know; you'll know."  The President had already promised a probe into the situation.  If Wingard were behind this, he would pay.

************

to be continued...


	11. Epilogue

After checking on the babies one last time, Frank made his way to the master bedroom and quietly closed the door behind him.  Shay sat on the bed leaning back against the headboard, her legs tucked up underneath her.  She was wearing one of his dark blue dress shirts and it brought out the brightness of her sky blue eyes.  When she held a hand outstretched to him, he smiled softly and reached over to the switch to dim the lights softly.

Crawling across the bed on all fours, he stopped and knelt beside her.  "You're wearing my shirt," he remarked softly.

Shay nodded and pulled the shirt tightly around her.  She had nearly lost the man she loved and holding any part of him close to her seemed a comfort.  

Frank read the pained expression that shone in her brilliant eyes.  "I'm sorry about your mother, Ashling," he whispered as he drew up next to her and sighed contentedly when she snuggled into his arms.  

"So am I, my love...but my mother died when I was a child.  That woman was a stranger, a stranger who left her daughter in order to resume her life as a government assassin.  She allowed herself to be a programmed killer..." she trailed off.  

"So your father said...I wonder if she chose that life or it chose her?"  

"I don't know.  How long ago do you think she was programmed for this?  Is it just some weird cosmic coincidence that it was my mother?"  

Frank rested his cheek softly on top of her head.  "Sooner or later, we'll find out.  How're you doing, Baby?"  

Shay smiled as she nuzzled his neck and slipped her hand underneath his shirt to run her fingers over his rippled abdomen.  "I'm just fine, Tiger.  The question should be, how are _you?_"

He groaned heatedly at her touch and shifted to lie over her when she stretched her legs out from underneath her.  As he removed his shirt, he felt her soft touch cover the bruise on his chest from where the bullet impacted against the Kevlar.  "Never better.  Is there anything you need?"  

"Just you," she whispered, lifting herself up to place a tender kiss on his bruise. 

"Are you sure, baby? You've had a lot to deal with today," he reasoned and slowly began unbuttoning her shirt, pressing soft kisses to the flesh that was revealed with each unfastened button.  He lifted his head and gazed at her lovingly as she pressed her hands tenderly to either side of his face.  

"I'm incomplete without your love," she whispered, her breath catching in her throat.  "Please, baby...show me your love."

Her plea and her need reached him down to his very soul.  A soul that had belonged to her from the moment he laid eyes on her.  As he lowered himself to capture her lips in a fiery kiss, he whispered, "_Avant que les étoiles et la lune ne brillent plus, ma belle femme_."

Shay smiled adoringly when the kiss ended.  _"Et pour une éternité après qu'ils s'effacent, nous appartiendrons toujours ensemble._"

--

Avant que les étoiles et la lune ne brillent plus, ma belle femme = until the stars and moon no longer shine, my beautiful wife.

Et pour une éternité après qu'ils s'effacent, nous appartiendrons toujours ensemble. = and for an eternity after they fade, we shall still belong together.

~finis~  for now... a new adventure featuring Jake and Frankie  will begin soon (and posted under Gypsy's penname)  As for who is behind all this... all will be revealed in time...in time.  --Dreamy


End file.
